Jagd auf Nilpferd und Krokodil

Rubens presumably received his inspiration for this subject following his close study of Classical art, as depictions of dramatic hunting scenes were very popular even at that time. The realistic depiction of the hippopotamus is presumably based on a stuffed animal that was on show in Rome in 1601. The painting is part of what was originally a four-part cycle of hunting scenes that the Elector Maximilian I had commissioned Rubens to complete for the Old Palace at Schleißheim. After being seized by Napoleonic troops this is the only one of the paintings to have found its way back to Munich.